New baby bunnies! Litter training, help!!!

[CottonAlong]

Hello! We are new here. I recently bought 3 baby bunnies. I believe they’re about 3 weeks now. I’ve had them for about a week. The idea was to get one baby bunny but then I considered it might get lonely without another of its kind so I decided on two but I have three children who all wanted their own. So long story short we have three adorable baby bunnies!!!

Now that we have them, I’m realizing that I didn’t do all the research I should have prior. But you don’t know what you don’t know, and I didn’t know that they poop sooo much and three bunnies are 3X the poop. Though this is definitely not a deal breaker, I’d love my baby bunnies to have free range. Is there any advice any one could offer as to litter training three baby bunnies? Should we focus on one at a time? All at the same time?is it impossible before spaying/neutering? Or

 

[Abi :)]

First of your buns are ADORABLE!! And I highly doubt they are three weeks old as they need to be at least 6-8 weeks of age before they are weaned off their mothers milk. If you want to limit the amount of poo you could try to clean it up every morning and every night so it doesn't look so overwhelming, I would recommend starting to limit their space because they also might start to develop bad urine habits if they are so young and are free roam, maybe just buy an x pen and section of some of the room and have play time with them, maybe where all the kids can sit down and bond with the buns? To enforce proper litter habits they need to be spayed/neutered, although i don't know how young your vet performs the surgery as it varies from bun to bun and from vet to vet. I would recommend calling them and asking when you can earliest have them spayed. Then also as they get older around 2-3 month their hormones kick in their litter habits could be worse, they could start spraying everywhere, they will probably even fight, so if possible keep you bunnies separately until they have been spayed/neutered and then start the bonding process There are some great videos below that helped me very early on, hope this helps!

101 rabbits litter training:-
101 rabbits bonding:-
101 rabbits spaying and neutering:-
Lennon the Bunny spaying and neutering:-

<3

 

[zuppa]

Hi, they are pretty bunnies, but they are definitely older than 3 weeks, as above babies stay with mother and depend on her milk until at least 8 weeks so maybe they are between 2-3 months, not weeks.

One looks like mini rex I have a very similar one.

You can toilet train rabbits no need to wait until neutering they are smart and learn quickly, they may forget some good habits when hit puberty, that usually happens around 3,5-5 months, sometimes later depending on your individual rabbits.

If you want to train them you need to limit their territory, starting from small area, maybe cage or playpen, when they be good enough with their litterbox you can extend their territory gradually.

But before all that you'd need to check their sexes and unfortunately it's not that easy they are best buddies right now but they are just babies, in a few weeks they will change and most likely you will need to separate them until they are fixed and 6-8 weeks after that.

It is very important to sex them as soon as possible, because if you have at least one girl there and at least one boy girl can get pregnant at 14 weeks and have babies (1 to 14 babies each girl) in 30 days.
No joking. Here's instructions how to sex your babies. If any of them already has their testicles dropped you don't need those pictures, but that usually after they are 3-4 months, up to 6 months for small breeds so try to find out who is who.

Sexing rabbit pictures!

Let us know how it goes, if you are not sure you can post clear photo here and we will try to help with that.

 

[CottonAlong]

First of your buns are ADORABLE!! And I highly doubt they are three weeks old as they need to be at least 6-8 weeks of age before they are weaned off their mothers milk. If you want to limit the amount of poo you could try to clean it up every morning and every night so it doesn't look so overwhelming, I would recommend starting to limit their space because they also might start to develop bad urine habits if they are so young and are free roam, maybe just buy an x pen and section of some of the room and have play time with them, maybe where all the kids can sit down and bond with the buns? To enforce proper litter habits they need to be spayed/neutered, although i don't know how young your vet performs the surgery as it varies from bun to bun and from vet to vet. I would recommend calling them and asking when you can earliest have them spayed. Then also as they get older around 2-3 month their hormones kick in their litter habits could be worse, they could start spraying everywhere, they will probably even fight, so if possible keep you bunnies separately until they have been spayed/neutered and then start the bonding process There are some great videos below that helped me very early on, hope this helps!

101 rabbits litter training:-
101 rabbits bonding:-
101 rabbits spaying and neutering:-
Lennon the Bunny spaying and neutering:-

<3

Thank you for taking the time to respond with loads of information! I would not have even known to separate them, or have thought that they may fight!!! I will definitely give the x pen a try, my daughter who is 15 also suggested that. Thank you also for the videos

 

[CottonAlong]

Hi, they are pretty bunnies, but they are definitely older than 3 weeks, as above babies stay with mother and depend on her milk until at least 8 weeks so maybe they are between 2-3 months, not weeks.

One looks like mini rex I have a very similar one.

You can toilet train rabbits no need to wait until neutering they are smart and learn quickly, they may forget some good habits when hit puberty, that usually happens around 3,5-5 months, sometimes later depending on your individual rabbits.

If you want to train them you need to limit their territory, starting from small area, maybe cage or playpen, when they be good enough with their litterbox you can extend their territory gradually.

But before all that you'd need to check their sexes and unfortunately it's not that easy they are best buddies right now but they are just babies, in a few weeks they will change and most likely you will need to separate them until they are fixed and 6-8 weeks after that.

It is very important to sex them as soon as possible, because if you have at least one girl there and at least one boy girl can get pregnant at 14 weeks and have babies (1 to 14 babies each girl) in 30 days.
No joking. Here's instructions how to sex your babies. If any of them already has their testicles dropped you don't need those pictures, but that usually after they are 3-4 months, up to 6 months for small breeds so try to find out who is who.

Sexing rabbit pictures!

Let us know how it goes, if you are not sure you can post clear photo here and we will try to help with that.

Wait, what? Pregnant?!? My head is spinning lol. I was saying to my daughter yesterday that her bunnies stomach is fat I’m not 100% but I don’t think they’re 14 weeks yet so hopefully it’s just good eats! I will definitely separate that asap. I have two girls and a boy.

I must say, I am really embarrassed that I don’t know as much as I thought I knew having done research only days prior to getting them. So I thank you for taking time to help me with our new family members.

 

[Abi :)]

Thank you for taking the time to respond with loads of information! I would not have even known to separate them, or have thought that they may fight!!! I will definitely give the x pen a try, my daughter who is 15 also suggested that. Thank you also for the videos

no problem, let me know if I can help with anything else!

 

[sunflowerdbb123]

Hi, bunnies usually choose a corner to pee in, if possible put the litter tray in that corner. If your bunny then pees in another spot wipe it up with a tissue and place it in the litter tray so that she gets the smell of the urine. Use white vinegar to spray other places she pees to get rid of the scent and hopefully they won't go there again. I found that my bunny Lola was fully litter trained but when her hormones kicked in she started pooping and peeing outside of the box. I am hoping it improves again when she's sprayed which has been delayed due to the Coronavirus. Good luck with your little ones, they truly do bring lots of joy to your home, they look so cute too.

 

[Blue eyes]

Definitely not 3 weeks old -- which is a good thing! Maybe 2 months. This page shows what a bunny looks like at 2 weeks, 3 weeks, etc.
http://truluvrabbitry.com/2009/01/01/how-does-a-8-weeks-old-look-like/
Using an ex-pen to limit their roaming is a great idea (as others have suggested).

In the meantime, you might want to start thinking about what to do with each of them after they are fixed. You mentioned you have 3 children, so this is why I bring this up. Forming a bonded trio is possible but is not easy nor is it always possible. If they do bond as a trio (I'm talking about after they are fixed. What you see now isn't a true bond as all rabbits snuggle together when they are babies.), then, as a trio, they must remain together 24/7. That would mean sharing a cage, sharing exercise time outside the cage and even going to the vet altogether even if only one needs care. In other words, they can't be separated.

That's why I suggest considering what to do re: your kids. If they each expect to keep "their" bunny in their own room, that isn't possible if the rabbits have formed a trio bond. If they are ok with the rabbits sharing 1 cage in whatever room, then no worries. I just thought it would only be fair to give you a head's up so you can decide what's best for your family.

Also, you'll want to call around for rabbit savvy vets and their costs for rabbit spays and neuters. Where I am, a spay costs about $250. So that's another consideration. If you intend to have a trio, all three need to be fixed to prevent those hormones from interfering.

You could also consider bonding just 2 and keeping the 3rd separate. That comes with both advantages and disadvantages depending on your situation. For example, your 15 year old may be off to college in a few years. "Her" rabbit may only be 3 years old and dorms usually won't allow rabbits. Rabbits can live over 10 years, so what might become of her rabbit then might need to be considered at this early stage if considering keeping one single, paired, etc.

These are just some thoughts for your consideration...being a mom myself and having had kids (with pets) go off to college.

 

[zuppa]

Wait, what? Pregnant?!? My head is spinning lol. I was saying to my daughter yesterday that her bunnies stomach is fat I’m not 100% but I don’t think they’re 14 weeks yet so hopefully it’s just good eats! I will definitely separate that asap. I have two girls and a boy.

I must say, I am really embarrassed that I don’t know as much as I thought I knew having done research only days prior to getting them. So I thank you for taking time to help me with our new family members.

Girls sometimes can stay together longer, sometimes they just stay bonded even without spaying them, but there's no guarantee. They can become territorial and start fighting/humping each other for dominance, pee everywhere to mark their territory etc. Depending on their personalities, but it is possible that they will stay together without any problem until 5-8 months. So it is safe to keep them together for another couple months, then you will see if they are getting aggressive towards each other, if there are some fur chunks around probably you need to watch them closely and separate until they are spayed. Or most of female rabbits I know got much calmer and less territorial with age, after they were one year old. I bonded two one year old unfixed girls but you will need to do some further research, maybe your daughter can do. I know it sounds unbelievable right now but not funny at all, they can damage each other badly.

Boy should be separated from them so he can't not only reach them but also if during his hormonal time he will see and smell them he can become very nervous and can start spraying walls and them and you and everything around with urine and pee/poo everywhere, you don't want it. It should stop after 2 months after he's neutered. In my experience boys kept completely separately from girls and kept as solo rabbits are very sweet and absolutely no problems until they can smell another rabbit, then they can change dramatically, become aggressive, start peeing/pooping everywhere and spray everything, can be real disaster.

I am completely with Blue eyes comment above three baby rabbits will take time, money and experience to bond together, and no guarantee. Also agree about college time and all she said about bonding and separation of already bonded trio.

Rabbits can live 10-14 years happily so it's not a short-time toy, it's a lot of responsibility.
In your situation it will depend on how fast can you learn and react, good thing that you don't have two boys as they could start fighting really early from 10-12 weeks, so just separate your boy from girls now hopefully they are not pregnant yet.

I understand that you got them without knowing anything about rabbits, most people do that, but you are very good for trying to learn more now, and taking advice.

Just wondering which one of the three is a boy? Are they all related?

 

[Eve84]

You can get the boys neutered early (10-14 weeks) then you won’t need to separate them at any time. Having a bond between three rabbits it’s not an problem as long as they stay together in a hutch. The kids can take them out separately for a cuddle not too long like hours.

Neutering cost in Germany about 60€ which is 60$ or 53£.

Good luck